Experimental and theoretical investigation on pressure-broadening and and pressure-shifting of the 22.2 GHz line of water

Since water is a fundamental component of the atmosphere and it is well established that the accuracy of collisionalbroadening parameters has a crucial influence on reduction of remote sensing data, we decided to investigate the self-, N2-and O2-broadening parameters of the J=6,1,6-5,2,3 (22.2 GHz) rotational transition of water in the temperature range296 338 K. Due to the relevance of this water line, this investigation should be considered of particular interest inmonitoring the Earth s atmosphere, and therefore a particular effort has been made in order to reduce instrumental as wellas systematic errors. Experimental determinations have also been supported by theoretical calculations.